Kobayashi Maru III
by PWhitehead
Summary: A nervous Bajoran Cadet takes the fabled test... and does surprisingly well...


Kobayashi Maru  
  
Kobayashi Maru, Take Three (Star Trek DS9 season 2 era)  
  
Starfleet Academy Command Simulator  
  
Gerel Lonik found life at the academy hard for her, partly because she was Bajoran, and partly because she found it hard to study. Today was her Kobayashi Maru command simulation, which her human roommate referred to as 'the test to end all tests'. She took a deep breath and composed herself before she entered the holodeck. As she walked onto the bridge, she could feel the eyes of her crew on her, like pinpoint lasers. Although she had spent hours revising for this exam, she was afraid of the 'no-win scenario' test, just as most humanoids were afraid of the unknown. The test was an unknown to her, and she had only heard hearsay and rumours about it. From what she had been able to gather, it was impossible to win. Only James Kirk, one of the humans on the required reading course she had studied extensively, had been able to beat it, by reprogramming the computer.  
  
She hurriedly sat down in her command chair, wiping a strand of her hair away from her face. The holoprogram was a simulation of a Sovereign-class ship, the Enterprise E. James Kirk flew the original Enterprise, she thought, how will I ever be able to show justice to his ship?  
  
The panels on the bridge activated. "Attention" The computer said, in a metallic voice. "Starfleet Academy Command Test will now commence."  
  
The holographic viewscreen activated and put on a forward view, an image of a starfield. Cadet Gerel could not recognise this vista from any other.  
  
She heard a buzz and a bleep from the communications console, which startled her. She turned and looked at the cadet responsible for comms.  
  
"Um… Comms, anything to report?"  
  
"Captain, Incoming distress signal from a civilian ship nearby. It's full of static. I'm boosting it now." Said the human cadet at the comms station, busy with his panel.  
  
"Onscreen, please." Cadet Gerel fidgeted in her chair.  
  
"Sorry, it's audio only. I'm putting it on the bridge speakers."  
  
"Enterprise, this is the Kobayashi Maru. We are under attac-...unknown assailants… We have… -sualties. Hull …-eaches in many sectio-… life support low… …one hour left, need assista-…-rgen-…" The signal started to break up.  
  
"The Kobayashi Maru has a crew of eighty one and in excess of three hundred passengers, Captain." The Vulcan cadet at the ops station said.  
  
"Thank you. Ask for their position." Cadet Gerel ordered.  
  
"They say they are in sector 131, near the Badlands." Gerel Lonik briefly considered all the known pirates and hostiles in that area. Cardassians, the Maquis, the Ferengi.  
  
"Set a course for their position, best speed." She had to admit that she didn't know what speed this ship could do, so she left it to the helm officer in that way.  
  
"Course plotted, warp 9 point five." There it was. She tried to remember that piece of information. Sovereign class - warp nine and a half, she mentally repeated.  
  
"Captain?" Came the call from the helmsman. Gerel turned to look at him, unsure what he might say. "Sorry - you just looked pretty… far away for a second."  
  
"Um…" She tried to compose herself, but couldn't stop from blushing in front of all the crew and the Starfleet Academy observers. "Engage." She said to the helmsman, scowling slightly at him as she walked back to her chair.  
  
The Enterprise warped off towards the Maru, half a light year distant.  
  
On arrival, they found a squadron of Cardassian Galor-class battleships. Gerel wondered if this was a trap - that many Galor-class ships could have wiped out the freighter in seconds. They must have been trying to lure bigger prey. Well, they'd got it, and they outgunned the Enterprise six-to- one.  
  
"Red alert!" Shouted Gerel, in response to the sight of the Cardassians - people who had enslaved her world for decades until recently. She immediately thought that her actions would seem to be an overreaction, but decided not to second-guess herself. Flustered, she waited to see what happened.  
  
"Captain, my scans show two-hundred and three lifesigns on the Maru." The science officer said, in a calm Vulcan tone that made Gerel want to scream. Those Cardies just butchered over one hundred and seventy people! She thought. Murderers! She now had the beginnings of a headache, and was worried that she might start stuttering again. This is just a simulation, this is just a simulation she repeated over and over in her head, like a mantra. She didn't realise that she had closed her eyes and clasped her hand to her head until she was woken from her reverie by a call from the comms officer.  
  
"Incoming hail from the lead Cardassian ship."  
  
She was surprised that the Cardassians wanted to talk. "Onscreen" she said.  
  
The image of a grizzled Cardassian male appeared on the screen. "Federation Starship, we demand that you surrender."  
  
"What right do you have to demand this, Gul?" Gerel said, her cheeks flushed, and she was merely putting on the bravado.  
  
"Ah! A Bajoran captain! How… Federation. You will be an excellent trophy for my people. You have two minutes to drop your shields and prepare to be boarded. As you can see, my ships have surrounded you. There is no escape."  
  
The Cardassian cut the channel.  
  
"Captain! What are we going to do?" Asked one of her crew in a tone of panic that showed her that she wasn't the only one under stress. Think! She told herself. What would James Kirk do in this situation?  
  
She remembered something, something from one of the early mission logs. She knew it was a slim chance, that it might not work. She would never have the audacity to try it in real life, of course, and she might get asked about that in debriefing. But hey, she told herself, it's a no-win scenario anyway.  
  
"Comms, open a channel to them, and keep it open even if they try to block it." She stood up. "Cardassian vessels. Up until now, we have remained patient with you, but we now feel there is something you should know. All Federation ships are f-fitted with a c-" She started to stutter again, and tried her hardest to stop. "Corbomite device, that will destroy both the ship, and any ships in a five hundred AU radius. It is designed as a failsafe, in case the ship is surrounded in case like this one. However, we have set it on a fifty-second detonation countdown from now, to prevent our ship falling into your hands. We tell you this because we want to give you a chance to live. Flee now, Cardassians, if you value your lives." She signalled for the comms officer to cut the transmission.  
  
The Vulcan looked strangely at her. Some of the crew began to look the same way, while others applauded.  
  
"Captain! The Cardassians are going away! They are out of weapons range!"  
  
The crew began to cheer. "Drop shields, beam them to sickbay, and lock a tractor beam on the ship!" She ordered. Ten seconds later - all were aboard. "Helm, set a course back to Federation space, warp nine point five. Engage!"  
  
"Attention. Starfleet Academy Command Test will now end." The holodeck faded, and reverted to its yellow and black gridlines. The door opened. In walked the Commandant.  
  
"Cadet Gerel, congratulations. You are the first cadet in Starfleet history to successfully complete this test legitimately. I am sure you'll make an excellent captain some day."  
  
Gerel did not know what to say. She stood there, surrounded on one side by a semi-circle of grinning cadets, and on the other by the Commandant.  
  
"Thank you sir… I don't know what to say…"  
  
"You do know there's a prize up for the first cadet to beat the simulation, don't you?" said one of the cadets.  
  
"A p-prize?" she asked weakly.  
  
"Yes, one thousand credits and a medal. It was put up by Jim Kirk."  
  
"Well, I did borrow his idea a little…"  
  
"And I'm sure he'd approve. Come along now, there'll be press reporters all over the place in an hour. You're going to be famous. James T Kirk famous."  
  
Gerel fainted, and dropped to the corridor floor.  
  
"Doctor Harvey, report to holodeck 5". 


End file.
